In normal life, people generally see a monopoly as a bad thing. Lack of competition leads to poor services or products and inflated prices. Customer service gets put on the back burner because the money will come in regardless. Business monopolies can only exist in collusion with government. Without the protectionism of regulation and red […]

Taxpayer support of base grocery stores this fiscal year would fall by $130 million, or 9.4 percent, if Congress fails to reach a debt-reduction deal by Jan. 2. That's the deadline to avoid arbitrary budget cuts mandated by the sequestration mechanism in last year's Budget Control Act. The Office of Management and Budget delivered that […]

The Clovis cosmetics plant fiasco is a good demonstration of the truth that the best thing government can do, about the economy and everything else, is: nothing. It's a result that it seems anyone who doesn't look at life through the "beer goggles" of government could have seen coming. Judging from comments I saw when […]

The fact that New Mexico's education system is in dire need of reform is not lost on citizens of our state. Recent polling found that 75 percent support the simple act of holding back third graders who can't read. This is good news! People clearly want to see reform — and our children deserve the […]

Soldiers and Marines have had the most deployments, seen the toughest fighting and suffered the greatest number of U.S. casualties in recent wars. And as with most post-war periods, ground forces also will see their career opportunities tighten faster than for other service branches. The Army plans to shed 60,000 troops, or 11 percent of […]

I have had numerous opportunities to see the Clovis High School band perform, but I rarely got to enjoy it as much as I did Monday night. It's easy to appreciate something when you aren't busy compiling football stats. Though I didn't interact with the kids Monday nearly as much as the adult coaches — […]

As presidents of Clovis Community College and Eastern New Mexico University, we want to outline the benefits to the college and university of General Obligation Bond "C" in the Nov. 6 General Election, and why it makes sense to the citizens of Curry and Roosevelt counties. If Bond C passes in the Nov. 6 General […]

Far be it for me to offer political advice, but were I a state Senate candidate I would lay off the prairie chicken. You don't want to mess with lesser prairie chicken, folks. Aubrey Dunn is running for Senate in District 39. He may have stubbed his toe when he criticized state government for spending […]

Recent and ongoing local events illustrate the folly of imprisonment. The situation is not unique. The same type of events repeat, in limited variation, all across America on a continuous basis. The Stanford Prison Experiment, and subsequent studies that keep confirming it, should demonstrate that you can't give one group of people dominion over another […]

On the stage, seated with a small group of wounded warriors sharing stories of grievous injuries and inspirational recoveries, is an attractive young woman with short and spiked blond hair.When it's her turn to speak, she does so confidently and with a pleasing southern drawl.Tara Dixon introduces herself as an Army Reserve major and a […]

"Justice" is the attempt to take an individual who has been harmed by an act of aggression or property loss and correct the damage; to return the victim to as close to the "pre-victimized condition" as possible. What, then, is "injustice?" It is often simply the lack of justice. This could be injustice through omission […]

Traffic funnels into the border patrol station off Highway 70, the good guys are waved on to drive into Alamogordo and scattered locales, the suspicious detained. One recent Wednesday, just as we were affirming, yes, we are American citizens, the alarm device in the border patrolman's hands started flashing like a slot machine gone berserk. […]

For perspective, I need only read faded, handwritten letters from Aunt Eula. The letters were to my late mother in the months before my aunt, 46, died from suspected tuberculosis on May 21, 1958, in a Galveston, Texas, sanatorium. Here are excerpts: (December, 1957): "My hands and eyes swell until I can't hardly use them. […]

Traffic funnels into the border patrol station off Highway 70, the good guys are waved on to drive into Alamogordo and scattered locales, the suspicious detained. One recent Wednesday, just as we were affirming, yes, we are American citizens, the alarm device in the border patrolman's hands started flashing like a slot machine gone berserk. […]

Conservative political columnist Michelle Malkin offers this view of President Obama's reaction to American deaths in Libya: Wazzup, President Obama? You've got room on your schedule to schmooze hip-hop radio DJs, debate Nicki Minaj's rap lyrics and hobnob with big donor celebs Jay-Z and Beyonce. We see your passion on the golf course. We see […]

In the end, I am only responsible for what I do. I can make sure my kids are raised with my values and principles, but that doesn't guarantee they will follow when they're grown. I can let people know when they are doing the wrong thing, and refuse to go along, but if they have […]

New Mexico needs a better system for evaluating public school teachers, according to New Mexico Secretary-Designate Hanna Skandera and Charles Bowyer, executive director of the National Education Association-New Mexico. Here's a snippet from a recent column they've co-authored: When it comes to the teachers of New Mexico, many are so much better than "meets competency." […]

Rick Reilly did a great piece this past week on Gerry Sandusky. No, not that Jerry Sandusky, which is kind of the whole point of the news piece, which I highly recommend you catch on ESPN's website. There's a Baltimore broadcaster named Gerry Sandusky, who constantly gets hate mail and second looks from people who […]

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has proposed opening military TRICARE networks of civilian health care providers to veterans who can't get timely mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. TRICARE networks currently exist to provide health care to military personnel and retirees, their families and survivors. Two days after Romney's pledge, President Obama […]

The Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico issued this press release on insurance safeguards. While the banking system and the economic rebound remain fragile in New Mexico and across the nation, policymakers do have a tool they can use to further the progress we've made so far. Continuing to provide full deposit-insurance coverage for […]